The Power Won't Stop Flicking Off While I Am Trying To Post This

Throughout my days I always think, I should blog about that, then I never remember what it was I was going to share.

I am settling into the routine here. Figuring out more day by day what my role is and how things work. I am training up Sia, a national nurse, to be the ward supervisor which I thought would be more challenging that it is turning out to be. She is fabulous. From day one she has been taking initiative and making sure things are getting done. I have been rearranging the wards to make things easier to get to and to have less clutter around and she has been giving ideas and jumping in to help. Last week I was teaching her how to enter patients into the database. She told me she took a computer class not too long ago but after we got past how to use the mouse, things picked up a little. She is a fast learner and I think this will be a great position for her to be in.

I am awful at learning names. I was asking someone the other day if they knew where a certain nurse was and she said she was the black woman sitting outside. I could only laugh and walk away considering the long row of patients sitting outside and I was the only white person around.

The patients are beautiful. They will stay here for close to twenty days so the opportunity to get to know them on a deeper level is something I am really looking forward to. Dr Lewis is the VVF surgeon here and she is wonderful. We have enough bed space that if a woman comes and and is malnourished, even if she is not a candidate for surgery, we will keep them on the ward to “build them up”. We will work on getting their nutrition in line and get some meat on their bones before sending them home.

This past weekend I went to another beach. It was amazing. Not only was the beach absolutely beautiful, I had my first full lobster. This beach was incredible. The restaurant we were at was inside this small bay. There was a sandbar that came out which left a small area for the ocean to come in. We would swim out to this bar and jump in the ocean and let it push us in. I felt like I was floating down the Clark Fork after being dumped in my canoe, without the fear of hitting rocks.

So far through this experience I have really been learning so much about God’s grace and goodness. At times I still wonder if this is the right place for me, if I have enough talent and leadership ability to not only do this job, but to do it well. True, I had a slight breakdown last week but who hasn’t when they start a new job. The people that are here at this clinic couldn’t be more supportive though. There is a substantial expat community in Aberdeen and Freetown. It’s been great meeting people from different NGOs and getting to know people outside of this place as well. And there are people living here from all over the spectrum but somehow it all works. Somehow in the almost two weeks of me living here I am feeling a part of this. I can’t wait to see what happens and what comes of this year here.